Very nice kit and setup.
Build took me about 20 hours of work to get it running without a body. You could probably finish it much faster if you're experienced (this is my second RC truck kit after a stampede), but building is half the fun so why rush? Finishing the body will take a while longer to paint and add all the trim pieces.
Running a Mamba X with 1900kV Slate motor and 3S 5200mAh LiPo, I'm getting maybe ~7mph in low, and maybe 10-12mph in high gear, and ran over 2 hours on my first test drive. This doesn't sound very fast, but it has /tons/ of torque and low-speed control, and I wouldn't want it to go much faster or I would probably roll it more often and damage all my hard work. Also, the ESC and Motor were never hot to touch or above ~100F according to the data log. I plan to try 4S soon but otherwise am happy with the ESC, motor, and gearing for crawling.
Tips:
- I second the other review that recommends checking the rccrawler forum thread with updated notes on the manual supplied by the designer of the kit. http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/axial-scx10-iii/616553-scx10-iii-things-know-before-you-build-yours-tips.html
- I /Strongly/ recommend buying a 3mm metric tap for pre-threading some of the holes, especially the shock tower mounts, as noted in the forum link above. Actually, this tool is super satisfying to use on the hard plastic used on this kit, even if to just ream the tip of the hole and thread a mm or two.
- Some holes probably shouldn't be tapped/threaded all the way through if you want everything to stay tight, maybe with the exception of the shock tower mounts and a couple others. I didn't tap all the way through one of the shock mounts and I ending up stripping the hex head, so getting it off is gonna be a PITA if/when I need to take that shock off.
- This kit uses a lot of close length screws on some steps (8, 10, 12, 14) so don't make my mistake... lay out and triple check the screws before rushing for best results.
- Same goes for the suspension links. triple check the link length, end type, and orientation. Also, one end of each link is reverse threaded so you can adjust lengths after installation. This is probably obvious to experienced builders, but I'm embarrassed to say exactly how long it took me to figure this out LOL.
- A couple holes on the metal frame didn't line up exactly with the plastic holes when putting the chassis together, and took some drilling to enlarge the non-threaded holes slightly (it's possible I made a mistake in sequencing or this is a fluke on my kit, but my fix didn't seem to break anything).
- If using the micro servos, make sure to carefully set your travel limits and transmitter settings. I think I may have damaged one since it was constantly trying to move beyond its mechanical limits until i figured it out. I wonder if this might be why some of the reviews of the SX107 complain about the servos failing after one or two battery packs, but it could just be the SX107. I'll try to add a review of the SX107 after I've had more time to figure this question out.
- After actually driving it for a couple hours, I think the low/high and DIG functions are a little gimmicky and I'll probably just run it in Low 4WD 90% of the time anyways for crawling. There's not a ton of difference between low and high, so I might investigate changing the high gearing for more speed, but I'm not sure if there's much room in the transmission case for a major upgrade.
- If getting aftermarket wheels, double check that they will fit over the portal hub axles' gear boxes. For example, these will NOT fit: https://www.hobbytown.com/axial-1.9-8-hole-beadlock-wheels-black-2-axi8087/p34291
- Consider adding weights to the inside of the wheel hubs for extra stability and lower center of gravity. This is my first planned upgrade and not difficult, just tedious to mount the beadlock tires.
They put way to much effort into the body and not enough on the chassis. The receiver box is to small to effectively fit much of anything in it. My first time driving it I broke the panhard mount, they know about this issue which is why they put a spare mount in the bag of spare parts. The transmission is noisy. Depending on what servo you use the panhard bar interferes with full suspension travel. Snapped the third link mount on the front axle too. After all of these complaints would I still buy it.... sure why not, the thing looks amazing, and I like to tinker but I am a bit disappointed in the quality. I have a trx4 as well and that thing is a tank in comparison to this, I put way more power in my trx4 and it doesn’t break like this has.
So the manual version we got was dated 01/2020. If yours is the same, I would definitely recommend going over to RCCrawler and check out their SCX10.3 section (http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/axial-scx10-iii/616553-scx10-iii-things-know-before-you-build-yours-tips.html) BEFORE you start your build as there are some errors in the printed manual. Or visit Axial's website. But RCCrawler has Axial's senior product dev posting correctios and edits so that might be a good place to start.
In any case, the build was simple enough with your choice electronics. When it comes to the micro servos they wanted to use, I would recommend the Spektrum SX107 since it's whats advertised with the build. There may be other micros that would fit but even then, the SX107 has some fitment issues with the leads that was an extremely tight fit in the 2-speed install-spot...I ended up having to shave part of the servo and the area where I installed the servo just to get the cable routed to my RX without it touching anything...and why they made these leads so damn short I have no idea...if you use this servo for your dig and/or 2-speed, you'll need to buy some extensions.
4-star rating because of the manual misprints and (slight) servo fitment issues. Other than that, it's a fairly solid build. For those of you who just want the JLU body for their SCX10.2, it'll cost you about $173 for the body, interior, cage, and fenders. And this kit is already $370. AND, if you're interested in the portals, you'll be spending another $190 for aftermarkt portals. That's up to $363, and that's not including the price of the .2! If you're waiting to get IN to one, I would skip the .2 unless you get one already completed at a decent price. But if it's the portal and JLU body you're looking for, this is a good deal as any. Plus it comes with wheels and tires!
Shipment arrived earlier than expected (thanks Amain). I've started building the kit and I'm quite impressed with the organized packaging/instructions and quality of the parts. Transmission was fun to build, just have to pay close attention to the manual. Very pleased sofar, another great Axial kit!
A review can't express how bitchin this kit actually is. First, if you want a build kit that gives you those "hand-crafted" vibes, this is it. If you want a kit that you need to clock in and get to work, this is it. The second you open the box, you know you have your work cut out for you. Be prepared and clear off your work bench and dust off those tools. Axial has given us the opportunity to build yet another high quality kit that completely negates cutting corners. A true choose-your-own-adventure kit. Everything is extremely detailed and very well made. Not to mention, the walk-thru is very easy to understand and again, very detailed. By the way, you don't need to order thread-lock and lubes, Axial has you covered with the right amount. Even though I'm not a fan of Jeeps, I have no problem building this up as a Jeep, due to the detailed body and it's scale hard plastic and very detailed bits. Lastly, if you're looking for a fun and dialed kit, this is it. And needless to say, AMain is always awesome.
Absolutely loved building this over the course of a few week nights. I think building these Axial kits is even more fun than doing actual crawling.
I do wish I had paid more attention to the lexan body decals before using my spray window tint on the clear areas. That's my fault though; I still used the decals, but now the windows are incredibly dark. Also wish I had used a more fun color than pure white for the body in general. The black accents do look very nice against it, but now it has more of a mall-explorer than a rock crawler.
Now I just need to keep my cool and not buy another.
Very good truck. Came with an updated manual (still has a few issues) and had to slot 1 hole in the left front frame rail (about 1 mm off) easy fix with a dremel. Very pleased with the performance so far but did order portal weights front and back, brass diff cover for front, and softer compound tires. Should be a beast!
Looking forward to warmer weather to really get out and enjoy it!
I've bought a axial wraith in 2012 and used it a bit. In that time axial was just cheap brand of rc toys. Almost 8 years later I bought axial again. Now I got scx10 iii kit and I can feel what the different now and then. Quality of every part is better. Screws are stronger. In 2012 my kit had a lot of self-tapping painted screws for plastic. Nowadays my kit of scx10 has no one it. Only high quality screws m2, m2.5 and m3.
I'd been getting 2 days of fun building it. And thanks so much for body. It's awesome fitting and already cut.
If you wanna build it yourself you need 1.5mm and 2mm screw drivers only.
Again Amain is warranty in shipment and quality!!!. It arrived so soon, before I thought. Nice kit, Good quality in plastics and a lot of metal parts. The manual has some issues, the clicking in the transmission is not described on the manual, due the possition of the gears. Obviously, its axial, the main Brand on crawlers. But I think the Dig function and second speed transmission is not a lot of advance, otherwise, special servo horns, a lack of availability of these its the weakest point of this kit. I recomend not to use second speed o Dig, I think is not very usefull. And when its finished, of course I love this car. Great but not the best.
Loved this kit, it was a lot of fun to build. Helped me better understand the process to tear it down later. My only issue was figuring out what size screws were which. The instructions would show one thing but the bags would have another. If I could recommend 1 thing for axial, bag each screw size separately by size, bot by which step you are on. It would make it way easier to decide which is which.
great start to my fully upgraded belly dragger
Treal,husky links,brass all around
I've built the 10.2, element enduro and vanquish kit and the 10.3 is a great kit.
awesome kit, loved building it and love crawling it. I would recommend getting a small tap to help get the screws started, the hard plastics can be pretty difficult to get started with just the screws. also the receiver box is pretty small, I ended up not using it because the sr6100at receiver I used on this build wouldn't fit inside it
Ordered this because AMain had a flash sale of $100 off. Was a great deal and I jumped on it. Shipping took a bit to get here with a few hiccups, but all went well in the end.
As is usual I the SCX10 3 kit i ordered came in 3 days, ordered on Monday received on Thursday. They shipped it out in a few hours.
Regular free shipping
I'll give 5 stars to Horizonhobby for an amazing kit no problems building and it has good directions but as for Amain hobby the shipping department sucks as they don't ship in a timely matter and the North Carolina warehouse seems to be the problem you get a 1/2 star and that's being nice
Super cool. A complex build but solid instructions. Lots of fun.
Great kit alot of fun to build. I like kits way more than rtr . RTR are overpriced imo.
Hi,i was amazed and surprised of this kit, very detailed and goos quality. Axial made it again! Thank you Amain Hobbies =)
Fine kit Great assembly
I was happy to put it together
